The electrical wire normally used in commercial and industrial construction is of various types, differing in gauge, number of conductors, color and composition of insulation. Such wire is most commonly supplied in coiled form and quite often on spools. The present invention relates to a device for facilitating the transport of spooled electrical wire from one location to another, and for dispensing the wire at the locations.
Various types of spooled wire dispensers have been commercialized. Some have wheels, to render them more transportable and suitable for larger or more spools; some do not. For present purposes, a wheeled wire dispenser will hereinafter be called a "cart," whereas an unwheeled wire dispenser will hereinafter be called a "caddy." The present invention relates primarily, though not exclusively, to a wire "cart."
Spooled wire dispensers, whether they be carts or caddies, typically include a skeletal frame connected to which are "spool bars" which actually carry the spools. The spool bars are generally horizontal on most spooled wire dispensers. The skeletal frames of typical spooled wire dispensers either include a pair of vertical "uprights" with spool bars spanning horizontally therebetween (the "split upright" type); or a single vertical "central upright" with horizontal spool bars extending outwardly therefrom.
There are several problems with prior spooled wire dispensers. One problem with many cart-type dispensers relates to their handles. A typical spool cart includes a handle attached to its skeletal frame, the handle extending outwardly and/or upwardly from the frame to provide greater leverage for ease in maneuvering the cart. The handle is typically rigidly attached to the skeletal frame, which makes for a strong frame/handle assembly but which also makes the cart more unwieldy when trying to pack or unpack it in or from a vehicle for transport to a new job site. Some prior dispenser handles could be disconnected from the cart frame, but when the handle was so disconnected it could of course be misplaced or damaged.
Another common problem with prior spooled wire dispensers of the central upright type (as distinguished from the split upright type) is retaining the spools on the spool bars. The central upright type of frame is thought to be advantageous, at least for spools in the small to medium size range, in that the spools can be mounted to or dismounted from the spool bars of a "central upright" type dispenser without having to disconnect the spool bars from the upright. The spools can simply be slipped over the free ends of the spool bars. But there must be some way to prevent the spools from falling off the "free ends" of the centrally-supported spool bars. Attempted solutions to this problem include tipping the spool bars slightly such that they angle upwardly, thus employing gravity to retain the spools. The problem with this technique is that it makes the dispenser more expensive (because of the additional cost associated with separately connecting each spool bar at an angle), and also there is the problem of the additional friction between the inner surfaces of the spools and the central frame caused by rubbing between the inner surface of the spool and the central frame. By tilting the spool bars the spools tend to ride in on and rub against the central frame, thus making it more difficult to rotate the spools to dispense wire.
Another common way to retain the spools on centrally-supported spool bars is to use something in the nature of a cotter pin or spring clip. The spring clip technique is clearly less expensive than the inclined spool bar approach discussed immediately above, and inherently there is less friction between the spools and the frame. The problem with prior spring clip designs, however, is that the clips had to be completely disconnected from the free ends of the spool bars in order to slide the spools on or off. The spring clips, once removed, could very easily be misplaced.
Additional problems with prior spooled wire dispensers include the fact that some of them could only dispense wire in one orientation, with the frame horizontal or vertical, but not both; many were bulky and hard to handle and many prior spooled wire dispensers could not hold an adequate number of spools given the wide variety of wire that may be needed at any one job site.
The present invention is directed toward a spooled wire dispenser which addresses the problems discussed above. More particularly, the spooled wire dispenser of the present invention is a "central upright" type dispenser preferably including (i) an improved handle, which can facilitate movement of the dispenser but can also be folded out of the way when it isn't needed; (ii) improved clips at the "free ends" of the spool bars, wherein the clips needn't be completely removed from the spool bars in order to slide spools thereover; (iii) a design which allows dispensing of wire with the frame in either a horizontal or a vertical position; and (iv) an arrangement of spool bars on the central frame of the dispenser which accommodates a wide variety of spool sizes.